Have you ever found yourself wondering, “Why is there a fourteen-foot-tall inflatable volleyball sitting right in front of Roberts?” We may have an answer for you.
This year, for the first time in program history, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) is hosting the NCAA Division III women’s volleyball national tournament at Roberts Pavilion. The Athenas, perennial national contenders and the undisputed rulers of SCIAC for the past seven years, had a storied season leading up to their second consecutive postseason berth.
Last year, CMS did not concede a single match until their elimination in the postseason. This fall, they suffered several losses early in the season, falling to Washington University, Juniata University, Whittier and in-conference opponent La Verne.
“During the season we did have our ups and we had our downs,” said Dede Carranaza CM ’25. “We lost to La Verne and we lost to Whittier, which was a little bit unlike us. I felt like it was really good for our team in a way looking back now. I felt like it made us stronger.”
The 2022 run to the round of 16 was a Cinderella story gone wrong. After ranking only third in a SCIAC preseason poll, CMS spun the narrative on its head. Against expectations, the Athenas added another tally to six years of SCIAC championships, going 16-0 in all conference matches and sitting comfortably as No. 2 in the nation for most of the season. Unfortunately for the 5C faithful, this dominance didn’t stretch to the national tournament, where the Athenas were eliminated at home in the round of 16 by region X rival Trinity Texas, ending the season with a 30-1 record.
Carranaza noted that despite last year’s dominance in the regular season, they lacked the experience they needed to win it all.
“Last year, we did lose in the regional championships at home … that really stung,” Carranaza said. “We had been undefeated all season, and we didn’t get more exposed to that kind of adversity going to five sets.”
This loss marked the first time CMS hosted regional finals in program history. According to CMS Athletic Director Erica Perkins Jasper, after being selected to host Nationals the Athenas started strategizing to make sure they wouldn’t be stuck on the sidelines.
“I was really thankful that we got that opportunity last year because it was a really good trial run,” Perkins Jasper said. “We could really come up with a strong plan for this year.”
Since the start of the post season, CMS has conquered three beasts from the east, handily sweeping UMass-Dartmouth in the first round and running up consecutive 3-0 sweeps against Salisbury and tournament hosts MIT.
This series of wins earned the Athenas an elite eight spot for the first time since the 2021 season, ensuring that they would benefit from their home court advantage.
On Nov. 29, Roberts Pavilion was packed with CMS fans decked out in cardinal and gold to watch their eighth-seed Athenas continue their dominance, sweeping the one-seed University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Titans 3-0 to earn their spot in the final four.
“The support for the team was so energetic and encouraging,” crowd member Evelyn Harrington SC ’27 said. “It was incredible to witness what that team was capable of.”
The Athenas latched onto this energy as soon as the clock started, throwing the crowds of Oshkosh fans, all clad in bumblebee-striped denim overalls, into a fervor. CMS swept with great efficiency, handily knocking the No. 1 seed, who had mounted a 34-game win streak during their season, out of the tournament and punching a ticket to the semifinals.
Taking place less than 24 hours later, energy on the court was electric going into the Athenas’ next matchup as the Athenas challenged the Hope College Flying Dutchmen. On Nov. 30, Roberts welled to capacity as waves of crimson-clad fans crashed into the student section once more, waving banners and leading chants deep into the night.
CMS fell behind early, bleeding two sets without a response to the Dutch before coming from behind in the third set, where they found their footing from strong central support and sets from Georgia McGovern CM ’24. The crowd came alive, fueling the Athenas’ two consecutive sets and the tie-breaker, a first to fifteen bout that would determine who faced off in finals against Juniata. Unfortunately, the pressure was too great and the Athenas fell to an error, evoking screams of distress from the crowd, ending their 2023 season with the deepest run since their national championship in 2017.
Despite this disappointing end, Perkins Jasper noted the unifying impact that CMS’ tournament run had on the community.
“I was really excited with how well our students showed up,” Perkins Jasper said. “I think they created a really nice home-field advantage for the students.”
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